The present invention relates generally to the field of directory assistance services, and more particularly to contacting a party having a nonpublished telephone number using directory assistance services.
Communication plays an increasingly large role in today's society, and the telephone continues to be one of the principal means of communication. Directory assistance services assist callers in locating and calling other parties. If a calling party does not know the telephone number of a party, a directory assistance operator can provide the information, as long as the telephone number is published.
To assist a caller requesting a telephone number from a directory assistance operator, a service called Directory Assistance Call Completion ("DACC") has been implemented. Under DACC, when a caller requests a published telephone number from a directory assistance operator, the caller is given the option to have the call automatically routed to the requested telephone number for a small charge. In this way, DACC provides a convenience to the caller by eliminating the need to record and dial the telephone number provided by the operator.
Many people, however, choose to have their telephone numbers nonpublished, to maintain their privacy. By not publishing a telephone number, a person can limit the distribution of his telephone number to those people he has an interest in, while avoiding unwanted telephone calls from strangers or others he has no interest in.
People with nonpublished telephone numbers may also be interested, however, in hearing from many people who do not know the person's telephone number. Directory assistance operators are no help here because they cannot distribute nonpublished telephone numbers. This presents a serious problem, particularly in emergencies.
Under the current system, a person must publish his telephone number and sacrifice his privacy or refuse to publish his telephone number and remain unreachable to many callers. Either choice presents problems to both calling and called parties, leaving a void in today's directory assistance services.
Accordingly, it is desirable to allow a caller to contact a party having a nonpublished telephone number without disclosing the telephone number.
It is also desirable to allow a caller to leave a message for a party having a nonpublished telephone number.
It is also desirable to provide an automated system for allowing a caller to leave a message for a party having a nonpublished telephone number.
It is also desirable to allow a party to have a nonpublished telephone number, yet remain accessible to callers.
Additional desires of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.